Identification

• The drug Azilect (rasagiline), developed by two professors at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, is the first reported to slow progression of the neurological disease.
  
  

Considerations

• The ADAGIO Study of Azilect was one of the largest ever conducted with Parkinson's patients; 1,176 people with early-stage disease were treated at medical centers in 14 countries for 18 months.
  
  

Results

• The double-blind study showed Azilect to be safe and effective at slowing the progression of Parkinson's disease.
  
  

Significance

• The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Azilect for use in 2006. Teva, the Israeli company that manufactures the drug, plans to approach worldwide authorities to have Azilect labeled as the first Parkinson's treatment in the "disease modification" class.
  
  

Prevention/Solution

• Azilect works by inhibiting an enzyme that slows dopamine production in the brain. Parkinson's disease symptoms show improvement as dopamine levels increase.